A Family Tradition
by defyingnormalcy
Summary: Rusty's first Easter with Andrea and Sharon has him feeling apprehensive. This was written for the 'expectations' prompt at majorcrimes. Many thanks to kayryn for her ultra speedy beta. Raydor and Rusty, established Hobbs/Raydor.


"First angels and now coloured eggs; so _weird_," Rusty huffed as Sharon set a basket of hardboiled eggs down on their kitchen table. "I thought only little kids did this sort of stuff?" he complained.

Sharon sat down opposite him and unpackaged her set of crafts and paintbrushes. Very patiently, she addressed his complaint, "Andrea's nieces are very young and her family does an Easter egg hunt for them every year."

"Okaaaay, but why are _we _painting the eggs?" Rusty asked, annoyed. He poked the bottles of assorted food colouring on the table.

"Because Andrea is working most of today and I offered to help her out. She usually paints eggs for her brother and sister-in-law," Sharon explained as she poured equal amounts of food colouring into the tiny mixing bowls atop the newspaper-covered table. "I used to do this for my kids when they were young," she said happily. "It's nice to get to do it again."

"Right," Rusty said. He slumped back and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'm sure that she would appreciate it very much if you helped," Sharon said pointedly. "She already feels guilty that she can't do it this year and she doesn't want to let her nieces down."

"Why doesn't she just not go into work then? Isn't she like a senior DDA or something? Can't she tell them no?" Rusty asked.

"Because we can't always control what life throws at us, despite our experience or seniority. Is it unfortunate that she has to work on a Saturday? Absolutely. But it's not any more unfortunate then when I have to take on a case on a holiday or the weekend. That's the nature of our jobs," Sharon explained.

Rusty watched as she dipped a fine paintbrush into the red food colouring; she drew a steady line all the way around the egg and proceeded to apply more red food colouring to one half of the egg. "Okay, you're surprisingly good at that," he conceded.

Sharon snorted softly. "And what made you think that I wouldn't be good at this?"

Rusty shrugged. "I don't know. I just never pictured you painting eggs and liking it."

Sharon smiled. "There are a number of things that I enjoy that you've just never asked me about." She cleaned the brush in a bowl of water then dried the bristles before dipping it in the yellow food colouring.

Rusty chewed his bottom lip as he continued to watch Sharon apply an even coat of yellow food colouring to the other half of the egg. She blew gently against the delicate shell before setting it down carefully to dry. She wiped the remnants of food colouring off of her fingers before picking up another blank egg from the basket.

Rusty huffed. "Okay, like, do they need to be a particular pattern or something?" he asked reluctantly.

"Not really. Just try and avoid painting them all the same colour. The girls appreciate it when they all look kind of different," Sharon said.

"So, you've met them?" Rusty asked carefully as he borrowed a paintbrush and contemplated the colour choices in front of him; he went with green.

"Yes, I babysat them several months ago when they stayed with Andrea for a weekend."

"And the rest of her family?" Rusty asked, trying to sound casual.

"I've met her parents. They're lovely people," she said. Sharon looked at him knowingly from overtop her glasses. "So are you going to admit that this is what your attitude has been about today?" she asked.

"Attitude? What attitude?" Rusty asked, offended, but he gave up as soon as he met Sharon's knowing eyes. "Okay, fine. I've been annoyed today."

"And?" Sharon prompted gently.

"And…nervous. I've never gone to anyone's home for Easter. I've never even celebrated Easter. And Andrea has a big family, and I'm the 'new kid' and…I don't like being new," he finally admitted.

Sharon placed another painted egg down to dry so that she could give Rusty her full attention.

Rusty continued, "I just don't know what to expect. Like, what if they hate me? What if that forces you guys to break up? Or what if…" he trailed off in a very small voice.

Sharon placed a hand overtop his forearm. "First of all, Andrea's family is very excited to meet you, I promise that they won't hate you. And Andrea is very excited to introduce you. Honey, I promise you that no matter what happens this weekend we will never ask you to leave, and it would take a lot more than a few disgruntled relatives for Andrea and I to separate."

Rusty shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

"I know it's hard for you to trust people, and I really don't blame you for that. I don't know what else to say to put you at ease," she admitted. "I love you, Rusty. I would never, ever, compromise your safety or your happiness. Nor would Andrea," she said simply.

"I know," he said quietly. "I know that. It's just…sometimes I can't help but be afraid, you know?"

"I do. I feel the same way sometimes," Sharon sympathized. She thought of all the sleepless nights she's ever had, of every victim she's ever mourned; she thought of how many times she's feared that one day she would arrive at the crime scene of a loved one, of one of her children.

"How do you make it go away?" Rusty asked. He dipped his paintbrush back into the green food colouring and concentrated on his egg; he didn't trust himself to look at Sharon in the eye.

"You don't. You just cope with it. You rely on your loved ones to give you strength when you are feeling insecure, and you remind yourself that you are loved and worthy of happiness. And, slowly, it lessens."

"What about Andrea?" he asked.

"She has fears too," Sharon imparted. She thought of all the nights that she's had to wake up a crying and thrashing Andrea; her partner's ghosts were just as relentless as her own. "We all do Rusty, and that's okay."

"Yeah," Rusty said. He shrugged but offered Sharon a slight grin. "Okay, how do her nieces feel about polka-dots?" he asked.

"I think that they will love them," Sharon said. She watched with pride as Rusty carefully applied each coloured dot to the delicate eggshell.

They worked side by side for close to an hour before the click of the key in Sharon's front door broke their reverie.

"Well look at this, I have my own workshop of egg-painters," Andrea said happily as she kicked her shoes off. She walked behind Rusty and squeezed his shoulder in greeting. "These look amazing Rusty, thank you so much." A kiss was applied to the top of his head and Rusty couldn't help but smile back at Andrea.

She walked over to Sharon and met her halfway for a gentle kiss. "Thanks, honey. I really appreciate you two taking this on."

"It's not a problem," Sharon assured her.

Andrea sat next to Sharon and looked at the basket full of eggs sadly. "I've been looking forward to this for weeks," she said.

Rusty paused; he was just about to grab the last unpainted egg from the basket. "Here, you should do this one," he said as he handed the egg to Andrea.

Andrea's tired blue eyes widened in surprise. "Yeah? You don't mind?" she asked carefully.

"Go for it. You should get the chance to do this, too."

"Thanks Rusty," she said as she rolled her sleeves up and took the offered egg. "Any suggestions?" she asked as she nodded towards the bowls of food colouring.

Rusty considered her question for a moment. "Blue and yellow would be great. We've got a lot of red and pink and green so far, but not many blue or yellow coloured eggs."

Andrea nodded her head in agreement. "Blue and yellow it is then."

"You know, if you um, if you hold the brush a bit closer to the bristles you'll have better control over it. I found it easier to make the dots and stuff when I held it that way," he offered.

Andrea smiled warmly at him. She didn't let on that she did indeed know how to best hold the brush, instead she thanked him for his advice.

"We should have dinner soon," Sharon interjected. "I'm willing to bet that you didn't stop for lunch today," she said to Andrea.

"Guilty as charged. I just didn't have the time today, I know, that was stupid. I should have stopped for even something small," Andrea sighed.

"Maybe we can order in?" Rusty asked hopefully. They usually let him get away with takeout on the weekends.

Sharon rolled her eyes affectionately. "I'll call in. I assume that you're both in the mood for pizza and wings?" she asked.

Andrea and Rusty shared a guilty grin. "Well, I mean, if Rusty wants it…" Andrea trailed off, though she could hardly contain the glee in her tone.

"Fried dough and fried meat, such a sensible choice," Sharon sighed. "Pizza and wings it is I suppose. I'll call the restaurant."

Andrea winked at Rusty as Sharon excused herself to walk onto the balcony to place their dinner order.

"Hey, Rusty, I just wanted to say that I'm really proud and really excited to bring you to meet my family this weekend. I know that big events with lots of people aren't your thing, so I really appreciate that you're coming," Andrea said softly. She placed the half-painted egg down and reached out to squeeze his forearm across the table. "Thank you."

Rusty bit his lip and nodded. "Yeah. No problem," he said, trying to keep his anxiety hidden.

"If you're concerned about anything, you know that you can tell me, right?" Andrea asked.

"I'm okay….really, I promise," he added as Andrea raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "I was nervous. And I still kind of am, but…I also want this." He shrugged and stuffed his hands in his sweater pockets. "I guess maybe I'm worried that I'll lose this, you and Sharon right when I've started to realize how much I need it all," he said quietly.

Andrea nodded her understanding. "You know, I feel the same way. Sometimes I sit back and think of just how lucky I got with you and Sharon, I found the family that I'd been searching for and I couldn't be happier with how everything has turned out…but what about when it all gets taken away? What if you decide that you hate and resent my presence in your life? What if Sharon falls out of love?"

Rusty clenched his jaw, his face burned hot. "I don't resent you," he said abruptly. "And I don't hate you. And Sharon loves you so much. I've never seen her smile so much, well, ever really."

"I know," Andrea reassured. "But fear is tricky that way. It makes you think that the impossible or the untrue is in fact possible or true."

"Yeah. I guess," Rusty said.

"You know what I think?" Andrea asked. Rusty nodded and so she continued, "I think that it's a lot more productive, and a lot more pleasant, to be concerned with what is in our control, than what is out of our control. I made the decision to be thankful for the love that I have, and to be grateful for the present. And, I think that it was the right decision, because no matter how stressful my job can be, or how hard things can sometimes get, I get the privilege of coming home to a wonderful family every night."

Rusty considered her words and let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "It's a good decision," he conceded.

"The food will be here in half an hour," Sharon announced as she closed the sliding door to the balcony. She set her phone down on the kitchen table and wrapped an arm around Andrea from behind. She frowned slightly when she picked up on the mood between her two blondes at the table. "Everything alright?" she asked carefully.

Rusty was the first to respond. "Everything's great. Thanks for ordering pizza, I promise we can order from that weird vegan place next time," he said. "I'll even eat that quin…quinny.-"

"Quinoa," Sharon corrected. Between them, Andrea snorted softly at Rusty's apathetic mispronunciation.

"Whatever. Q-thingy. I'll get the placemats," he offered as he stood and made his way to the cupboard.

Andrea placed a hand overtop Sharon's on her shoulder. "Everything is just right," she promised. "We're okay."

Sharon regarded Andrea intently then focused her gaze on their foster son who was puttering around in the kitchen. She sighed contently and focused her gaze back on Andrea once more.

"Good," she kissed the word against Andrea's cheek and let a sense of calm and peace envelope her. Her family was home now; all was right, all was perfect.


End file.
